Eindhoven gets a starting point for tech start-ups in the Brainport region
Eindhoven is getting a new starting point for tech start-ups: The Gate. Various organizations, including Eindhoven University of Technology, will work together to support tech start-ups in the region.
The starting point is to help starting tech companies in the Eindhoven region, also known as the Brainport region, to get off the ground more easily. “Students or researchers with an innovative idea often do not have all the knowledge and skills to start a successful business. There are already all kinds of facilities to help them with this, but that was still too fragmented,” says director Jeroen van Woerden of The Gate.
In addition to TU Eindhoven, Brainport Development, the Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij, Fontys Hogescholen and Summa College are contributing to the initiative. To this end, the five regional parties have signed a memorandum of understanding in the presence of Mayor John Jorritsma and Deputy Martijn van Gruijthuisen. The business development department of the TU/e will be housed in The Gate and will receive help from the business advisors of the Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij and Brainport Development. Fontys Hogescholen and Summa College will connect The Gate to their own center for entrepreneurship and Fontys students will help starters with expert advice.
Brainport Development, which unites ASML, Philips, VDL and NXP, is responsible for a large part of the costs: it contributes 400,000 euros in communication budget and 500,000 euros in a new fund for tech starters. This fund is intended to provide financing to companies ‘in the initial phase’, if they are not yet able to obtain money from other investors. The Gate will be located on the TU/e campus, in the ‘start-up hub’. Other start-ups already have business space there.
The collaboration is mainly aimed at students, but also at researchers. Eindhoven University of Technology has about 12,000 students, Fontys about 44,000 and the Summa College in the region about 15,000 students. Starters with a good tech idea can report to The Gate if they are still orientating on starting a business, but also if they already have their first customers. “With us, they can gain knowledge about patents, arrange housing, help with making business plans, coaching and of course help with obtaining financing, says Van Woerden. He emphasizes that every starter receives customization.
The Brainport region is a partnership between various municipalities in the Eindhoven metropolitan region, companies, and the university, colleges and regional training centers. This partnership is aimed at stimulating the high-tech industry around Eindhoven.